Lorton ,Virginia is a suburb of Washington DC, about 25 minutes from the White House. A suburb full of numerous red brick shopping plazas and townhouse complexes. So when I stepped inside Pane e Vino,I wasn’t really expecting what met me at the other side of the revolving door. A little piece of Southern Italy. A place where I could enjoy Italian dishes prepared by Chef Antonio Di Nicola, and taste wines from Italy and all over. A place where I could feel like I was back in Italy…if only for a little while.

Pane e Vino is divided into three areas… three areas to experience good ol' southern Italian hospitality...

The first area is the dining room. It immediately brought back memories of southern trattorias. A place where, back in Campania, I would stop for a Sunday lunch. Fried calamari, steamed mussels, pizzas from a wood burning oven were just some of the items that I saw flowing effortlessly from the dining room to ever appreciative customers.

Over to the wine room…a room which features a beautiful mural of an Italian portico overlooking the town of Ciminna, Sicily painted by a Florence born and trained artist, Guglielmo De Molli. It provides a different atmosphere, a relaxing ambiance as you try wines and enjoy a meal.

I wanted to see the wine bar. This area, with its low lighting and rows and rows of wines from all over the world. Choosing a new wine may seem overwhelming at first. Pane e Vino makes it easy for you, though. A biweekly menu featuring a ‘Wine Flight’ special, where you they have selected the wines for you if you don’t know where to begin.

I ordered my wine flight-a Pinot Noir, a Languedoc, and a Cotes du Rhone-each from France…It was here that I enjoyed my sampling of cheeses and salamis –petite basque, st. andre, Roquefort, prosciutto san daniele, and jamon serrano to name a few.

And it was here that I felt a little ‘Southern Italy’ in Lorton Virginia, 25 minutes from the White House.